United Nations’ Gay McDougall Among Bar Award Winners
The D.C. Bar has selected Gay McDougall, the United Nations’ first Independent Expert on Minority Issues, as the recipient of the 2010 Thurgood Marshall Award to be presented as part of the Bar’s Annual Business Meeting and Awards Dinner on June 24.

The award is presented biennially to an individual who has shown a strong commitment to and excellence in the fields of civil rights and individual liberties.

“I am thrilled to receive the D.C. Bar’s Thurgood Marshall Award. There is nothing more meaningful than to be honored by your friends and colleagues,” McDougall said.

McDougall was appointed to her position in 2005 for a six-year term. From 2006 to 2008 McDougall held an appointment as Distinguished Scholar in Residence at American University Washington College of Law, and from 1994 to 2006 served as executive director of Global Rights, a human rights organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C.

During the dinner the Bar also will present the following awards: Frederick B. Abramson Award to the Study of the D.C. Rules Governing Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts by the D.C. Bar Foundation and the Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee; Pro Bono Lawyer Award to Nancy Hendry, a lawyer volunteer at the Children’s Law Center, and Hardy Vieux, of counsel at Blank Rome LLP; Law Firm Pro Bono Award (small firm: 2–50 lawyers) to Thompson, Loss & Judge, LLP; Law Firm Pro Bono Award (large firm: 51 lawyers or more) to Zuckerman Spaeder LLP; Best Bar Project Award to the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program’s Consumer Law Resource Center and the D.C. Bar Strategic Planning Project; Best Section Award to the International Law Section; and Best Section Community Outreach Project Award to the District of Columbia Affairs Section’s UDC 2.0: The Future of the District’s Flagship University.

The evening begins at 6 with the Presidents’ Reception welcoming incoming Bar president Ronald S. Flagg and benefiting the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program, followed by the Annual Business Meeting and Awards Dinner at 7:30. Both events will be held at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue NW.

For more information about the Presidents’ Reception or to make a contribution to the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program, contact Kathy Downey at 202-588-1857 or kmdowney@erols.com. To learn more about the Annual Business Meeting and Awards Dinner, contact Verniesa R. Allen at 202-737-4700, ext. 3239, or annualmeeting@dcbar.org, or visit www.dcbar.org/annual_meeting.—K.A.

Bar Has Mailed Dues Statements; Payment Deadline Is July 1
The D.C. Bar has sent its members their annual dues statements for fiscal year 2010–2011. The deadline for payment is July 1.

Dues are $237 for active members, $127 for inactive members, and $116 for judicial members. When paying dues, members also may join a section or renew their section memberships and make contributions to the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program.

Payments may be remitted by mail or submitted online at www.dcbar.org/login. For online payments, members will need their username and password, which automatically can be retrieved if their e-mail address matches what the Bar has on file. As an added convenience, the Bar now accepts American Express.

Dues not received postmarked by July 15—a month earlier than in previous years—will be assessed a late fee of $30. Members whose Bar dues and/or late fee, if applicable, are not received or postmarked by September 30 automatically will be suspended.

Members are encouraged to confirm all of their personal information on the dues statement, including e-mail addresses.

Board of Governors Approves Budget
The D.C. Bar’s proposed 2010–2011 budget, as recommended by the Budget Committee, received approval by the Board of Governors at its April 13 meeting.

The budget calls for an increase in members’ annual dues from $224 to $237 for active members, from $126 to $127 for inactive members, and from $113 to $116 for judicial members. However, these approved dues increases are at or below the dues levels projected in the Bar’s 2008 dues ceiling recommendation that was approved by the D.C. Court of Appeals.

The approved budget includes a small surplus in the amount of $59,785 for dues-funded activities and the mandatory course for new admittees. A deficit of $318,590 is expected for many activities of the Bar that are supported by nondues revenue. The committee proposes to cover this deficit with nondues money from the Bar’s reserve fund.

The approved budget also allocates $450,000 to the Clients’ Security Fund (CSF), restoring the fund balance to $750,000. This is a significant increase over the most recent year and is based on recent claims experience. The CSF acts as a “last resort” source to reimburse losses of persons victimized by attorney defalcation or misconduct. The fund is replenished annually and will be brought to $750,000 for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The approved budget includes a 3 percent merit pool for annual staff salary adjustments. This increase reflects current market conditions among comparable membership organizations.

Finally, at the recommendation of both the Building Committee and Finance Committee, the Budget Committee reviewed the Bar’s level of reserves. The Bar’s operating reserves are in line with the projections of the 2008 Dues Ceiling Committee recommendation. However, it has increased its efforts to fund its operating reserves and also will begin addressing its future space needs by designating and adequately funding a reserve intended to be used for future office space.

Candidates Mottley, Possessky Unveil Plans for D.C. Bar’s Future
D.C. Bar president-elect candidates Darrell G. Mottley and Laura A. Possessky presented their vision for the Bar’s future on April 28 in a forum also attended by candidates for the Board of Governors and the American Bar Association’s (ABA) House of Delegates.

After winning a coin toss, Possessky went first, focusing her speech on building community through engagement. Possessky, a partner at Gura & Possessky, P.L.L.C., seeks to increase awareness of the Bar’s resources, encourage more discussion through forums, strengthen online technology to connect attorneys across the fields, and find answers to the growing problem of access to justice.

“This is a really challenging time for the legal profession. It’s a challenging time for our clients. We have the capability to come up with some really creative solutions to these problems,” Possessky said. “We need to look at ways that we can make the Bar a resource at the fingertips of all the members.”

Mottley’s plan for the Bar emphasizes the need for resources to be literally at members’ fingertips. “We should look at a technology strategy to see how we can engage our attorneys in social networking … maybe digitizing the Washington Lawyer. We can look at mobile phone technology as well,” said Mottley, a principal shareholder at Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.

His ideas include using collaborative software to increase efficiency and seeking donations through texting to ease the burden of budget cuts to legal aid services. By transitioning into the Web 2.0 world, Mottley believes the Bar will be building on the strong foundation of its strategic plan and leadership initiative.

The D.C. Bar election is underway with nominees running for the positions of president-elect, secretary, and treasurer; five vacancies for three-year terms on the Bar’s Board of Governors; and three seats in the ABA House of Delegates.

Ballots and instructions for voting (by mail or online) were distributed to all active Bar members on May 5. Members have until June 4 to vote. Results of the election will be announced on the Bar’s Web site at www.dcbar.org and on Thursday, June 24, at the Bar’s Annual Business Meeting and Awards Dinner, which takes place at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue NW.

Concurrently, the D.C. Bar Sections Office has announced nominees for vacancies on the steering committees of the Bar’s 21 sections. Election is determined by ballot among section members, who have until June 4 to vote. The Sections Office will announce election results the week of June 14.

The candidates’ names appear in the election coverage article on page 36 of the May 2010 issue of Washington Lawyer. Candidate biographies also may be viewed online at www.dcbar.org/elections.—T.L.

Federal Judges Honor 30 Firms for Pro Bono Service
On April 13 the chief judges of the District of Columbia Circuit federal courts recognized a record 30 Washington, D.C., law firms for their commitment to pro bono work at the seventh annual 40 at 50: Judicial Pro Bono Recognition Breakfast.

The event recognizes firms where at least 40 percent of their attorneys provided 50 or more hours of individual pro bono service in the past year. Chief Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia hosted the breakfast at the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse.

Sentelle and Lamberth, along with other judges from the D.C. Circuit and District courts, also gave special recognition to DLA Piper LLP; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Jenner & Block LLP; and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP. At least 40 percent of partners at each of these firms contributed 50 or more pro bono hours in 2009.

“It is a tremendous honor to receive this special recognition of DLA Piper’s ongoing commitment to pro bono work,” said Elizabeth Dewey, a pro bono partner at DLA Piper. “Our partners have taken a key leadership role as the firm’s portfolio of pro bono signature projects and other pro bono initiatives continues to grow. Their strong enthusiasm for serving our local communities has been integral to this growth.”

First held in 2004, the annual event aims to encourage increased pro bono activity among attorneys working in the D.C. Circuit and to recognize firms that effectively encourage and support pro bono work at all levels. The plan has been a great success. Over the next seven years, the number of firms reaching the benchmark has grown dramatically from seven firms in 2003 to 30 in 2009.

Last year attorneys worked tirelessly to defend clients across the country and overseas. Crowell & Moring LLP obtained political asylum for a family of four from Somalia. A victim of human trafficking who managed to escape her employer’s home was approved for a T visa with the help of Dechert LLP. McDermott Will & Emery LLP attorneys represented a client in the yearlong process of adopting a child who was removed from her home two days after her birth due to parental neglect. These are just three of hundreds of pro bono stories that played out in 2009.

The 40 at 50 breakfast was sponsored by the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services. Only Washington, D.C., law offices with at least 25 attorneys are eligible for the recognition.—T.L.

Fulton, Angel, and Vergeer Honored at 2010 Judicial and Bar Conference
The local legal community honored three outstanding public service advocates at the 2010 District of Columbia Judicial and Bar Conference in April, presenting the Beatrice Rosenberg Award for Excellence in Government Service to Harry J. Fulton and the Jerrold Scoutt Prize to Eric S. Angel and Vytas V. Vergeer.

Fulton, chief of the Mental Health Division of the Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia, received his award during a luncheon featuring NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. President and Director-Counsel John Payton as keynote speaker.

D.C. Bar President Kim M. Keenan introduced Fulton by calling him “the quintessential advocate—a skilled, insightful, and poignant spokesperson for clients who often have no other effective voice.”

Fulton began working at PDS in 1971 as a staff attorney in the Mental Health Division, and within a few years was selected to serve as division chief, a position which he still holds. He encourages his staff to pursue impact advocacy through work that goes beyond the day-to-day representation of individual clients. Fulton himself has been a leader in securing fundamental rights for District residents with mental illnesses through class action litigation. Throughout his career, Fulton has served as a mentor to more than a dozen attorneys at PDS.

“I am obviously honored to be selected to receive this year’s D.C. Bar Beatrice Rosenberg Award and to actually be identified with Ms. Rosenberg…. It’s not always been a bump-free ride. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve made my share of decisions that I later regretted, but throughout my career I sought to stay true to Judge [David] Bazelon’s vision of providing high-quality legal services to my clients and to encourage my staff to do the same. It’s never been difficult to motivate good people to embrace this kind of vision,” Fulton said.

The Rosenberg Award is presented to a D.C. Bar member whose career exemplifies the highest order of public service. In keeping with the exceptional accomplishments of Ms. Rosenberg, nominees should have demonstrated outstanding professional judgment throughout long-term government careers, worked intentionally to share their expertise as mentors to younger government lawyers, and devoted significant personal energies to public or community service.

Angel, legal director of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, and Vergeer, legal clinic director at Bread for the City, accepted the Scoutt Prize at the closing judicial reception, where members of the local and federal judiciary who recently have retired or taken senior status also were honored.

Angel and Vergeer received the award for their collaborative efforts to reform pro bono tenant representation in the Landlord and Tenant Branch of the D.C. Superior Court.

“I think it’s especially sweet that Eric and Vytas are getting this award together. Not everybody may know that there’s a tremendous partnership between Legal Aid and Bread for the City,” said Legal Aid Executive Director Jonathan Smith in introducing Angel.

Vergeer called Angel “a fantastic partner in the battle to improve the legal rights and representation for poor people in the District of Columbia.”

The Scoutt Prize is sponsored by Zuckert, Scoutt & Rasenberger, L.L.P. and was created in honor of the firm’s founding partner for his ongoing support of legal services programs that assist those in the greatest need in the District. —K.A. and T.L.

Judicial and Bar Conference Looks at Legal Landscape and Economy
The 2010 District of Columbia Judicial and Bar Conference in April offered two days of programming that explored the challenges being faced by the legal community in a sluggish economy, from the bleak prospects of recent law graduates to the rise of solo firms.

The biennial joint conference, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, brought together judges, practitioners, and other members of the profession as they examined various issues under the theme “Survival Strategies for Modern Legal Times.”

Kicking off the conference on April 8 was the plenary session “Impact of the Economy on the Legal Profession,” moderated by James Jones, comanaging director at Hildebrandt Baker Robbins. Jones opened the discussion with an overview of how the economy has affected different sectors of the legal profession in the last two years.

“As we all know, the legal profession for the past couple of years has been undergoing some very serious challenges, economically and otherwise. I think it’s important to remember at the outset that the experience is only part, obviously, of a much broader economic downturn in our country and throughout the world,” Jones said.

According to Jones, the legal landscape is likely to look tremendously different when the financial crisis ends. “Ultimately, what I think this new environment will demand is a radical effort across all parts of the profession to improve the efficiency and the delivery of legal services, and to reduce the overall cost of legal services to a socially acceptable level,” he said.

The session’s panelists included Avis Buchanan, director of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia; Renee DeVigne, associate dean for student affairs at The George Washington University Law School; D.C. Superior Court Judge Stephanie Duncan-Peters; Daniel Mills, manager of the D.C. Bar Practice Management Advisory Service; William Perlstein, a comanaging partner at WilmerHale LLP; and D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program Director Maureen Thornton Syracuse, cochair of the Consortium of Legal Service Providers.

The panel looked at how large law firms are facing their biggest challenges in years and the possibility of there being a fundamental shift toward a buyer’s market of legal services, the expanding number of small firms and solos as more lawyers leave their large law firms, how legal services providers are dealing with decreased economic resources while there is an increased need for their services, the anxiety of recent law school graduates who are burdened with student loan debts and scarce job opportunities, and the courts’ continued attempts to respond to access to justice issues.

These topics served as a launching pad for discussion throughout the conference. During the plenary session “Addressing Impairment in the Legal Profession,” speakers tackled the growing problem of alcohol and drug addiction, as well as depression, among attorneys as they face uncertain futures. They emphasized the importance of outreach education as lawyers, in general, are more prone than the average population to these problems but are less likely to seek help.

The second day of the conference opened with the session “Special Courts and Litigants With Unique Stresses,” which drew a panel of judges from the District’s “problem-solving courts” to discuss the important role these courts play in furthering access to justice. In the afternoon, participants were invited to hear a discussion about the D.C. Bar’s recently approved strategic plan.

Adopting new strategies was the theme of the seminar “20 Keys to Successful Law Firm Management.” Panelists discussed effective ways to market a practice and network, including venturing away from the typical telephone book ads into the digital age with updated Web sites and regular use of social media. For solo practitioners, office location can play a crucial role in creating a successful business. Try renting out space in a larger law firm, which also will provide greater access to necessary equipment.

The conference also offered an ethics course and programs on perceptions of race and ethnicity in the courts, navigating an income or sales tax dispute through the District government and the courts, emerging e-communication issues, post-conviction issues for District criminal offenders, tips to becoming a D.C. judge, and building a successful law practice.—K.A. and T.L.

D.C. Superior Court Launches Housing Conditions Calendar
The Superior Court of the District of Columbia has launched the Housing Conditions Calendar, a new program that makes it easier for tenants to sue landlords for D.C. Housing Code violations by expediting the process. Under the calendar, tenants who file suit will have their first hearing scheduled in less than a month.

“We are very pleased to create a new expedited calendar for tenants seeking to compel landlords to keep their rented home or apartment up to the conditions required by the D.C. Code. This process will allow tenants to raise claims and landlords to quickly address those code violations that are found to exist,” D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Lee F. Satterfield said.

To initiate a case, a tenant-plaintiff must file a complaint and summons with the Civil Actions Branch Clerk’s Office at the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse, 500 Indiana Avenue NW, room 5000. A copy of the complaint and summons must then be served on the landlord-defendant. The tenant is responsible for serving the landlord at least eight calendar days in advance of the hearing.

Cases on the Housing Conditions Calendar will be heard by Judge Melvin R. Wright, deputy presiding judge of the D.C. Superior Court’s Civil Division. Wright has worked closely with all the stakeholders to develop an approach that is efficient, fair, and easily accessible to all tenants, especially those not represented by counsel.

The file fees required for the Housing Conditions Calendar cost $15. Forms can be found at www.dccourts.gov/housingconditions.—T.L.

Bar President Keenan Garners GWAC’s Charlotte E. Ray Award
On April 6 the Greater Washington Area Chapter of the Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association presented D.C. Bar President Kim M. Keenan with its Charlotte E. Ray Award during its 22nd annual awards ceremony.

“It’s a thrill to receive an award in the name of the first woman admitted to the bar association in the District of Columbia. I stand on her shoulders as I serve as Bar president,” Keenan said.

Ray was the first African American woman certified as a lawyer in the United States and the first woman admitted to practice in the District of Columbia. The award is given each year to an outstanding African American woman from the local bar, and past honorees have included D.C. House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Judge Judith W. Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and retired D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Annice M. Wagner.

The ceremony, held at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, also recognized past GWAC presidents, including Grace Speights, a partner at Morgan, Lewis who received special thanks for hosting the event at her firm.—K.A.

Reach D.C. Bar staff writers Kathryn Alfisi and Thai Phi Le at kalfisi@dcbar.org and tle@dcbar.org, respectively.

Could You Fall Prey to a Scam? Savvy Lawyers Have Paid the Price
The scams used to be obvious. “We are top officials of the Federal Government Contract Review Panel interested in importation of goods into our country with funds, which are presently trapped in Nigeria,” the e-mail would read.

“It used to be laughable,” said Daniel M. Mills, manager of the D.C. Bar Practice Management Advisory Service. “The thing has morphed.”

Across the nation, elaborate versions of the Nigerian swindle have made their way to inboxes of Washington, D.C.-area lawyers, almost leaving one Virginia attorney’s escrow account more than $1 million in arrears. Another Northern Virginia lawyer was not as fortunate; he now faces a possible lien on his house after falling prey to the ploy.

The scams usually start with an e-mail or a phone call from a potential client who wants representation for the collection of a debt in another state or overseas. Sometimes the client comes in the form of a husband trying to retrieve money from his ex-wife, an international company hoping to recover funds from another business, or a lawyer looking to enforce a contract dispute.

Regardless of the scenario, the story is the same. A standard fee agreement is signed. Then, a cashier’s check, certified check, or wire transfer from the debtor is sent to the lawyer, who disburses money from his trust account minus his legal fee. Days later, the bank realizes it was a counterfeit check, and the attorney is out of a lot of money.

Think you’re too smart to be conned? Think again. The scam has hit lawyers of all experience levels and infiltrated solo practices, mid-size firms, and Big Law. In Tennessee, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP—a firm with more than 370 attorneys—wired over $400,000 to a foreign bank account, only to discover the check was fake.

Richard T. Howell Jr., a partner at Buckley, White, Castaneda & Howell, L.L.P. in Houston, lost $182,500 after a Hong Kong company contacted him about collecting $4 million in debt from legitimate U.S. businesses. The company had its own Web site and documentation for the debts. Howell told KHOU-TV, “[I]n a perfect world, I guess I could have said, ‘Come over here and meet me in Houston.’ But I have met tons of my clients—a number of my clients I’ve never met are out of state or out of the country. I mean, that is not unusual at all.”

Scammers are taking advantage of common legal practices and are learning the lingo to trick their victims. “It’s going to sound like someone you can trust. It’s going to sound like the lawyers down the hall,” Mills said. “They know how lawyers work. They know how banks work. The best [scams] probably have lawyers and bankers working with them.”

Stay Alert
With greater levels of sophistication, how can lawyers decipher a real client from a fraudulent one? In most cases, there are red flags.

Too Good to Be True. Often the debtor sends money before the lawyer has done any work. If it looks like easy money, it is likely a scam.

Faster, Faster. The legal industry is not known for its lightning speed. Watch out if the transaction progresses faster than normal, and the client wants to expedite the disbursement of funds.

Across Borders. Tread carefully if a party is out-of-state or overseas. Some scammers pretend to represent a valid international company, even going as far as using the name of an actual staff member. Others have taken on the name of a real lawyer in another state. When it comes to banking, insist on a cashier’s check drawn on a local bank or one that has a local branch.

“It’s a really clever scam, but it’s so preventable,” Mills said. The key is patience. Asking a bank ahead of time if there are sufficient funds in the client’s account is not enough due diligence. In one case, the bank assured a Virginia lawyer that there were funds to support the check. His instincts, however, told him differently, and he consulted a local banker who believed it was a fake. The attorney sent an e-mail terminating the legal representation and never heard back from his “client.”

The moral of the story? Wait until the check is completely cleared before sending money. Those crucial few days—and up to 60 days if a legitimate check has been altered—can determine if an attorney will become a scam victim. A best practice is to ask the bank to send the check “for collection,” which involves a fee, to ensure its validity.

Also, verify all parties and their claims. “If you don’t know the people, be skeptical,” Mills warned. In very involved schemes, a scammer will develop a rapport with the firm or lawyer by engaging in smaller transactions and then going in for the kill with a larger payout.

Too Late?
If an attorney has already been cheated, what’s next? Aside from the embarrassment, some lawyers must repay the money. An Atlanta securities lawyer who overdrew his escrow account by more than $190,000 is now being sued by his bank, Wachovia, for reimbursement of the funds. Howell, the Houston-based lawyer, had to put a second lien on his house.

In the District, lawyers also will face an investigation. “If the facts were sufficient that it was an extraordinarily sophisticated thing and the proper actions were taken and you’ve got a thief, you couldn’t fault the lawyer,” said Wallace E. “Gene” Shipp Jr., Bar Counsel for the District of Columbia. “If someone says, ‘Here’s $100,000. Put it in your account tonight, and tomorrow morning I’m going to come by and pick up $90,000’—the check couldn’t possibly clear. Then you’ve engaged in a misappropriation of other clients’ funds if you had other clients’ funds in there. You borrowed from Peter to pay Paul, and you’re not allowed to do that. The rules do not provide for that.”

The updated version of the Nigerian scam proves that, over time, swindlers will only get smarter and scams will become more complex. Remain vigilant. “The economy has made lawyers just hungry; their guards are down,” Mills said. “The lawyer is nearly always at risk.”—T.L.